Review of The Way (2010) by Amilcar A — 04 Dec 2011

The death of a son, whether young or old doesn't sound like a great idea for an inspiring movie. Ironically when the actor and main character are both related to Charlie Sheen, who at times we all think is going to die, the film actually works very well.

The Way is a great little movie that is both funny and sad without overdoing either emotion. It's touching and poignant at times but also has some funny moments and a great heart. What is particularly cool about The Way is where it plays. The bulk of the story happens in a very holy pilgrimage walk. However the movie is not religious or preachy and the only moments that dabble in liturgy are quite ethereal.

Dr. Tom Avery, the lead plays a solitary man who loses his son on a freak storm in the Pyrenees while trying to walk the Camino a Santiago. As he goes to retrieve him in France, he decides to do the walk himself. Perhaps because of the lack of connection with his son over the last years of his life, he embarks on the walk and encounters and befriends some unusual characters. Joost, the co-lead and Dutch friend is the best character and provides some of the best moments.

Throughout the movie, we also get to see some wonderful sights, experience a bit of the pilgrimage and take a peek into why people do things like 800KM treks across Europe.

While a bit cliche laden and heavy on stereotypes, The Way is a very good movie. Sadly, as with most intelligent films it will be lost in the ocean of Twilight and Harry Potters.